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The bodies of four people have been recovered from the wreckage of a tour boat that sank in the Danube River as it was lifted out during a delicate salvage operation in the Hungarian capital.

Key points:

High water levels, heavy rain and murky water have impacted search and salvage effort

The Ukranian captain of the cruise liner that struck the Hableany remains under arrest

The bodies of eight victims have not yet been recovered and could be trapped inside the hull

A huge floating crane, barges and rescue personnel were working early on Tuesday morning at Budapest's Margit Bridge, where the Hableany sightseeing boat sank on May 29 after colliding with a much larger river cruise ship, killing 26 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew.

As the recovery was underway, four body bags were carried on stretchers to a small police cruise boat waiting nearby.

The Hableany, which translates to "mermaid", sank after a large Swiss-owned cruise liner hit it from behind as both vessels passed under the 19th-century bridge during heavy rain.

At the time, survivors said they were lucky to grab onto a drifting lifeboat while watching on as others around them struggled in the dark, rainy waters, shouting for help.

It was the worst disaster on Europe's longest river in half a century.

More bodies could be trapped inside the wreckage of the boat.(Reuters: Marko Djurica)

Divers inserted four straps under the sunken wreck to allow a huge floating crane to lift the boat.

Salvage was expected to be slow because the Hableany was about 70 years old and it would be hard to assess how much damage its structure had suffered during the collision, Hungarian special forces said.

The captain's deck appeared above the water on Tuesday morning.

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CCTV footage shows moment tourist boat capsized

Divers will now search for the body of the captain before continuing to lift the boat carefully to avoid breaking the hull.

There could also be more bodies trapped inside the wreckage.

Efforts to search for the missing victims were hindered by the Danube's high springtime water levels and the river's fast flow, as well as poor visibility under water.

The boat had almost finished its tour when it was hit.(Reuters: Marko Djurica)

None of the tourists were wearing life jackets

The South Korean group — including 30 tourists, two guides and a photographer — were on an hour-long sightseeing tour on the vessel, which was built in the former Soviet Union.

The tour had nearly finished and the boat and was almost at a stop when the larger cruise ship hit it.

About 20 people were on the deck taking photographs or preparing to disembark. Others were in the cabin.

The collision was the worst disaster on the Danube in about 50 years.(Reuters: Tamas Kaszas)

The 64-year-old Ukrainian, who was the captain of the other ship in the collision, the Viking Sigyn, has been under arrest since June 1.

Police on Sunday carried out another inspection of the Viking Sigyn, which left Budapest less than 48 hours after the collision but was back in Hungary on a scheduled trip and docked at the town of Visegrad, north of Budapest.